Today in Washington D. C. - March 31, 2009 - Congressional Gimmickry - Tigers Awake!

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Senate resumed consideration of S. Con. Res. 13, the $3.5 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget resolution. Under Senate rules, the budget may be debated for 50 hours, not counting voting time. According to Senate contacts, the annual vote-a-rama on budget amendments is likely to begin Wednesday or Thursday with a final vote on the budget expected late Thursday or Friday.

The first two Republican amendments to the budget were filed last night. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is offering an amendment to require that any climate change plan does not increase energy prices. And Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) is offering an amendment to prohibit reconciliation rules being used for any carbon cap-and-trade legislation. Debate on both amendments is scheduled today, and votes are possible. My guess is Democrats kill the amendments.

Democrats are being less than forthcoming with Americans on the budget’s provisions on spending, taxation, and reconciliation. The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes today, “If Congress, in its infinite wisdom, should ever decide to create a federal Department of Smoke and Mirrors, we know just who should be in charge: Either Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. of South Carolina or Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota. . . . Each claims to be outraged about the large deficits envisioned in President Barack Obama's proposed budget. Each has offered an alternative aimed at saving hundreds of billions of dollars -- which sounds impressive until you realize that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the president's plan would run a $9.3 trillion deficit over the next decade."

Much was made last week in the press of the slight spending differences between the administration’s budget proposal and that of Senate Democrats but all this really amounted to was “gimmickry,” as The Washington Post described it. Democrats are not being forthright when it comes to the tax increases included in the budget. The Wall Street Journal points out, “Lawrence Summers, President Obama’s chief economic adviser, declared recently that ‘Let’s be very clear: There are no, no tax increases this year. There are no, no tax increases next year.’ . . . [However,] The President’s budget calls for the largest increase in the death tax in U.S. history in 2010. . . . The announcement of this tax increase is buried in footnote 1 on page 127 of the President’s budget. That note reads: ‘The estate tax is maintained at its 2009 parameters.’ This means the death tax won't fall to zero next year as scheduled under current law . . . .”

Democrats have been cagey, down right deceptive, about potential "reconciliation instructions" which would prohibit Republican filibusters on health care and carbon cap-and-trade (i.e., energy tax) legislation. Democrat leaders, in cooperation with the White House, are pushing behind the scenes for action to block the "Mr. Smith" Republicans from filibustering thus getting the American's public attention. Speaking on the floor yesterday, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) explained how this would work, “It is obvious. This is a game, a very dangerous game. The House puts in reconciliation instructions but the Senate doesn’t put it in because the leadership knows that maybe it cannot get that across the floor and doesn’t want a vote on such a thing. So they can take it to conference and, much to nobody’s surprise, the conference budget comes back with reconciliation instructions, which control activities on the Senate floor.”

Transparency from Congress on the issues of massive expenditures of money, far-reaching tax increases, and sweeping legislative changes is greatly needed. But the Democrats are not supporting that transparency and open debate beyond occasional rhetoric. They hope to slip the federal budget by the sleeping tigers, the American Public. But those tigers are awakening and starting to strut and roar - consider the rising number of TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Parties occurring and developing across America. If these former sleeping tigers gets any more riled up, the Democrats can expect their offices to be taken from them by 2010. And Republicans had better remain alert, exceed rhetoric and prove their value, for a tiger or two can handle a donkey (ass) and several tigers can easily dispatch an elephant.

And for ALL former as well as current members of Congress -- let's see how long those outlandish congressional retirement and benefit plans survive when the public demands that future legislators dish out "change" for your failed public service that lead to ruining the American economic system that all Americans have enjoyed. The failures and oft times corrupt actions that have lead to the bankrupting and bringing down our Great Nation is not going to be relegated to platitudes. It will be sweet justice to see you face "The Union" of tigers -- the American taxpayers who work daily to keep our economy working.

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